Mors Pulchra
by Esse Quam Videri
Summary: After being apart for three years, the team is reunited for a mission that contains as much mystery as it does danger. The fate of the world is once again in their hands as an ancient villain rises who seems to have a particular interest in Kid's history.
1. Chapter 1

Hi Hi Hi!

So this is my first fanfiction, and of course it has to do with my all time favorite anime/manga: Soul Eater.

So before we begin this grand adventure, I'm just going to issue a few warnings:

One: This story is going to be yaoi. If you are uncomfortable with this then do not start reading it, get offended, and then send a mean message. Just, you know, don't read it. Fairly straight forward, yes?

Two: This story will be a slow moving story, both in terms of content and updates. Content because I wanted to write a chaptered story where I could let all of my creative juices go to work and I want it to be realistic. Well, as realistic as it can be. Updates will be slow because this story is going to contain material that is not canon that I have to do research for and make up completely out of my own mind while still staying true to the Soul Eater universe. And bear in mind, I'm a junior in college and have a heavy workload. Just be patient, I promise that I will limit the time I take between chapters so that you're never waiting more than two weeks.

Three: I am a review fanatic. I adore reviews and critiques on my work and will only continue with something if I can get enough feedback. So if you like something, dislike something, have any ideas or muses that you would like to share, please review and tell me.

That's all for my warnings, now on to my inspiration for my story: this story stemmed from two of my obsessive thoughts concerning Soul Eater. One being the luscious imaginary pairing of Death the Kid and Soul Eater Evans, and the other being my interest in the mystery of the concept of death gods that has yet to be truly explained. Thus this idea started to come into being, and this story will serve as my interpretation of this mystery.

I hope you enjoy and remember that I do not own Soul Eater or any of its characters. A fact that causes me deep sadness and regret.

Onward!

Chapter 1 The Team Is Reunited: Lord Death's Mysterious Mission?

A lone motorcycle sped noisily through the vast barren desert, kicking up sand behind it and creating a trail that followed its every move. The sun bared down upon the two riders and cast a golden shine to everything it touched even while laughing in the same raspy voice it had three years prior, almost as if in a welcome that Soul had not even realized he had missed.

Soul hit the brakes suddenly, making his bike slide to a sideways stop, sand flying out in a glittering fan, and causing Maka to shriek in surprise, grabbing wildly at the sometimes reckless driver's jacket. As soon as they came to a complete stop Soul extended one jean clad leg and placed a foot on the ground to ensure balance. Shrugging Maka's hands off with a light smirk on his handsome, tanned face, Soul mockingly chastised the girl sitting behind him trying to catch the breath that had escaped in her sudden panic.

"You would think that after all these years you would be used to my driving by now Maka. I could feel fingernails that time, not cool."

The blonde girl huffed and then replied in a slightly shaky voice, "Shut it Soul! I don't think it's possible to even come close to getting used to your homicidal driving."

The meister lightly slapped the boy in the back of the head and then twisted her upper body to the side, raising one gloved hand up to her brow, shielding her eyes to better see the towering metropolis in front of them.

Soul regarded her for a moment, thinking that she had really changed very little in the past three years. Other than gaining a few inches of height and losing the girlish pig tails to allowed her blonde hair to flow freely, she had traded the traditional school girl's uniform for a pair of black shorts, a simple button down green shirt paired with a black tie and completed the look with her signature black cloak.

He himself had grown to 6'1", a very cool height to be in his mind and the added muscle mass did not hurt too much either. Dressed in a pair of simple jeans, a white t shirt and black leather jacket, his hair the same wild mess of white spikes, he made quite the impression.

Soul then turned his attention to Death City. The metropolis was completely rebuilt, absolutely no sign of the destruction that was left over after the defeat of the kishin Asura could be seen. The outer city walls had been repaired and repainted, the staggering lines of buildings and houses that spiraled up were unbroken and uninterrupted, and the red, black and white building of the DWMA stood tall and refined at the top like a crown.

The battle was now just a memory, the physical evidence erased and the horror of those days remained nothing more than a lingering shadow desperately clawing for purchase in the minds of all the people who had lived through it, soon to be banished and refurbished just like Death City.

Looking over the gleaming mountainous village, the weapon felt the tension of homesickness that had been building in his heart release just a bit.

"I wonder why Lord Death summoned us back two years early." Maka wondered aloud.

Soul shrugged. After becoming a Death Scythe, it had been decided rather quickly by he, Maka, and Lord Death that it would be a good idea to get some worldly experience. After all, they were still relatively young. So the weapon-meister combo were sent to spend one year doing missions in each of the five country's they had been assigned. Similarly, Black Star and Tsubaki were sent to spend the same amount of time in Japan, a country that was currently low staffed and in need of some assistance. Soul sometimes wondered if the usually conservative country would not rather give the noisy ninja back but he never asked in his letters.

However, a few days ago, he and Maka, who were on their way to Russia, were contacted by Lord Death. The death god requested a meeting, stating that there was a mission that required their urgent attention, even if it meant cutting their current one short by two years.

"Whatever it is, we had better get going. Our meeting is in twenty minutes." He reminded her.

Maka gave him a grin, showing just how happy she was to be home as well.

"Well then, let's get going slow poke!"

Soul sighed, hiding his own answering grin, "So pushy."

And with that he hit the gas harshly, laughing when his meister screeched once more. After ten minutes of driving the most direct route through Death City, Soul brought the bike to a slow stop in front of the main entrance to the DWMA.

The scythe waited for Maka to gingerly get off before climbing easily off his seat, standing next to the blonde haired girl and staring up at the school.

"I didn't expect to be so happy to see it again." Maka spoke quietly. Soul understood but did not want to interrupt. After living with the girl for several years, he knew that Maka wanted to express her feeling out loud. "When we defeated the kishin I felt like we couldn't have gotten out of here fast enough but now that we're back, I don't feel like I've come back to the place of all that trial and pain, I just feel like… like I'm home."

"That's just one more victory over the kishin then." Soul said simply, Maka looking at him surprise.

The weapon let his easy grin fall into place and ruffled her hair, making her swat at his hand in irritation.

"Well come on then, we shouldn't keep Lord Death waiting just because you're feeling sentimental."

Maka rolled her eyes and the two of them made their way into the building, walking down familiar corridors, listening to the familiar sounds of professors lecturing and the gentle scratching of chalk against blackboards, the next generation of weapons and meisters being taught by some of the best in the business.

"Well, well, well look at who else is back."

Soul and Maka turned toward the sound of the voice and grinned at the sight of Professor Stein leaning against a closed classroom door.

Their old professor had not changed in the slightest, he was just as they remembered him, creepy smile and all.

"Professor Stein, aren't you supposed to be teaching right now?" Maka teased.

The older man smirked, "I sensed your soul wavelengths down the hallway, I couldn't very well pass up the chance to see two of my favorite students for the first time in three years, now could I?"

Soul laughed, "You consider my lazy ass one of your 'favorite students'? And what do you mean by 'look at who else is back'?"

"You'll see soon enough, your meeting is in five minutes, you should get going. Don't want to keep Lord Death waiting now do we?" Stein said seriously and turned to go back into his classroom.

"You know about our mission Professor?" Maka asked suspiciously.

The older meister gave a small frown, "You're going to have to be extremely careful on this one, don't be stupid, and do as you're told."

And with that Stein gave a little wave over his shoulder before shutting his door behind him.

"Well that was special." Soul stated, one hand rubbing awkwardly at his neck.

"It worries me that Professor Stein seemed worried." Maka admitted, staring hard at the now closed door as Soul put a hand on her shoulder.

"Whatever, I'm just glad to see that the creep is doing better now. Come on."

The two continued walking through the polished hallways of their old school, lost it their own thoughts. Soul would not admit it to Maka, but the run in with Professor Stein had worried him as well. What could be so important that Lord Death would have to call them back early and made Stein so concerned about their well being?

It was not until he was little more than halfway down the hallway leading to the Death Room that his troubled mind was cleared and the fact that he was truly home hit him.

Literally hit him as something heavy collided with his back.

"Yahoo! No one told us that you and Maka were going to be here too! The awesome, unstoppable duo of the amazing Black Star and the ever cool Soul Eater Evans is back in business!"

The brief annoyance that Soul felt in response to the sudden heavy weight on his shoulders was immediately washed away with the slightly obnoxious sound of Black Star's voice and he laughed whole heartedly at his best friend while staggering in an attempt not to drop him.

"Dude! It's great to you too and all, but you're a lot heavier than you were three years ago."

Black Star laughed and climbed off of his friend as Maka hugged Tsubaki in greeting. Soul nodded at the older girl, giving his own welcoming smile in response to hers. She looked the same as ever, and Soul was happy to see that he had finally become taller than her by a couple of inches, her long ebony hair was still pulled back in a high ponytail, but her previous outfit had been replaced by a long brightly colored modern kimono style dress that suited her very well.

Black Star was still as short as he was loud, he had grown but it seemed that he was doomed to remain at his current 5'7", he was built like a brick wall though, explaining why Soul had such a difficult time holding him up despite his considerable strength. The ninja's outfit had matured somewhat, with white bandages wrapped from his hands to his elbows, blue hair still a mess and sporting a pair of navy blue pants, black tennis shoes, and a shirt reminiscent of his old wear barring the fact that this one was completely white.

"Were you both called home by Lord Death as well then?" Tsubaki asked, her voice as soft and kind as ever.

"Yeah, he contacted us a few days ago, said he had an important mission for us that couldn't wait." Soul confirmed, hands retreating to his pockets, shoulders hunched slightly as he leaned against the wall.

"That's what he told us too! That's so cool! We're a team once again!" Black Star cheered pumping his fist into the air.

"I wonder if that means that Kid, Patti and Liz are going to be sent with us as well." Maka mused happily.

Soul smiled at the possibility of seeing the prim and proper meister and his weapons after all this time. Unlike the other members of their team, Kid, Patti and Liz were not sent anywhere after the defeat of the Kishin. Soul asked Kid once in a letter why his father did not deem it important that he and his weapons be exposed to the same worldly experiences Lord Death wanted for he and Maka, but the young death god simply stated that there was no need and left it at that.

Black Star cheered happily again at Maka's statement.

"Yeah! Then I can show that princess once and for all that Black Star is number one!" He cried, both hands on his hips in a confident pose.

Tsubaki sighed and smiled sweetly, "Same old Black Star."

Soul and Maka laughed and Soul punched his best friend in the shoulder lightly, "Only one way to find out what's going on."

The white haired weapon put a hand on Death's door and the four of them walked into the meeting room, the familiar sight of Lord Death in all his masked and cloaked goofy glory standing in front of his long mirror and field of crooked crosses under a long stretch of blue sky, Spirit standing to his right eager to greet them immediately.

Very eager it seemed, as the most prominent Death Scythe in Death City, in fact in all the world, was currently holding Maka off the ground in a bear hug to end all bear hugs.

"Papa! Put me down! This is ridiculous, you're embarrassing me, I'm 19 years old!" Maka yelled, a blush of embarrassment staining her cheeks as Soul and Black Star stood behind Tsubaki with their arms over each other's shoulders, laughing at her in the background.

Spirit slowly dropped his daughter carefully back to the floor and put his hands up in a defensive gesture quickly, eyes closed in a bright smile.

"Sorry Maka, I'm just so happy to see you, at home and safe! I was so worried about you! Oh the sleepless nights thinking about all the things that could go wrong while you were away!" He said in a rushed breath in an attempt to avoid the young girl's wrath.

Quickly sobering when he realized that she was not going to hit him or do something equally as painful, Spirit looked at his daughter for the first time in three years.

"You sure have grown up." He said, almost sadly as he held onto her shoulder before his attention was averted by his daughter's weapon snickering behind her, "Soul!"

Soul's eyes widened in surprise at being addressed before wincing at the friendly (harsh) punch to his shoulder, given by his overenthusiastic fellow Death Scythe.

"Look at you! You're as tall as I am! Oh why do children have to grow up and break the hearts of their parents and guardians?" Spirit lamented while using his hand to see if there was any measurable difference in their heights. Soul received some satisfaction when the older Death Scythe found that there was none.

"It's a terrible truth of life. It seems only yesterday that all of them were just students here, so cute fighting the kishin and such. Even my little Kid has grown up so much! Do you know that he went on a date just a few weeks ago? A date!" Lord Death wailed sadly.

Spirit practically flew over to the Shinigami's side, patting what he thought to be Lord Death's shoulder sympathetically.

"A date? How horrible! With who?" The oldest Death Scythe asked, almost as distraught at the prospect as the death god was.

Black Star sighed and crossed his arms over his chest, visibly frustrated, and decided to get this meeting back on track, "Hey! What about the missi-"

"That visiting meister from Australia! The one who came to give the bi-annual report! To think, that ruffian taking my innocent little boy out on a date! The horror!"

Tears welled up in Spirit's eyes in understanding, "You poor thing!"

Soul and the others sweat dropped in the background. This is what they had been called back for?

"Umm…" Tsubaki spoke politely.

Lord Death and Spirit became instantly alert when the quiet girl spoke up and resumed a more professional stance.

"Oh yes. Now is not the time to lose ourselves to the deepest pits of despair, there is time for us to mourn our children's lost innocence later Spirit. Right now we have very pressing business to attend to." The Shinigami said, sobering up just as quickly as he had lost his cool.

"You have a mission for us Lord Death?" Maka questioned, the environment becoming more serious.

"Yes I do, one of extreme importance, I fear that there could be dire consequences should it go wrong." He answered ominously.

"Heh! Obviously why you needed Black Star, Number 1 Meister of the DWMA to return to tackle this mission himself!" Black Star declared.

"You are right about one thing Black Star, it did have to be you four. No one else would have worked so well with your team leader." Spirit said with a smirk.

"Team Leader?" Soul questioned, thinking the concept completely uncool.

"Yes," Lord Death said matter-of-factly, "This mission will pose some danger to you simply because of the fact that you are humans. The place you will be going to has different rules and as such, you will have to listen to what your team leader tells you carefully, for your own safety."

"Who is this team leader? I'll show him who's in charge here! No one is stronger than Black Star! Man who will surpass god!"

Lord Death then waved happily, "There you are Kid, Patty, Liz. Right on time as always."

A grin immediately took its place on Soul's face as he turned to greet the meister and his weapons with everyone else but stopped short in mild shock.

Liz and Patti were standing behind their meister as usual, neither having changed very much. They were both a bit taller, Liz still towering over her sister and her meister at 5'11" and Patti still a shorty at around 5'6". They were still dressed symmetrically, wearing short white jean shorts and long sleeved v-neck shirts that bared their midriffs. Both girls wore black boots, black chokers and black cowboy hats, each with a different colored flower acting as a personal accent.

Soul wondered as the girls jumped onto Maka and Tsubaki if they really did that only to please their symmetry obsessed meister or if they really just enjoyed matching.

It was the young shinigami that shocked Soul the most though.

He was still relatively short for a guy his age, probably around 5'8", just a little taller than Black Star. Other than that the physical changes were pretty sparse. Kid still had the same yellow ringed golden eyes, the same smooth flawless pale skin, and the same delicate aristocratic features. His raven black hair was longer now, the symmetrical layering allowing the very bottom to brush his shoulders just slightly.

His outfit was the biggest change. Gone was the formal, pressed suit and in its place was a much more casual set of clothes that still managed to retain an elegant feel. Black skinny jeans, held up by a simple black belt, clung to his skin and showed off just how long and shapely his legs were and ended in a light ankle high black boot. A white long sleeved shirt hugged his slender frame, the top hitting the edges of his shoulders, leaving his neck and collarbone exposed, while the bottom ended just an inch or so above his pant line, baring a strip of midriff. A simple necklace hung from his neck, a perfectly symmetrical key decorated with the familiar skull motif of his father.

All in all, it was more skin than Soul had ever seen the young death god show in the five or so years he had known him and the combination of the outfit, Kid's natural physical attributes and his unique coloring made the Shinigami look… exotic, sexy even.

It was an odd concept to the Death Scythe. Soul was an equal opportunities type of guy, gender did not matter very much to him, or society for that matter, and he could appreciate beauty in all kinds of forms, male or female. But he had never thought about any of his friends the way he was now thinking about Kid. He had never found one his close friends… appealing. Not only that but he had never really thought about dating, sex or relationships as concepts you would associate with Death the Kid, so formal and proper that he was.

The whole effect made Soul think of what Lord Death had said a few minutes previously, about some Australian meister taking Kid on a date.

Soul did not know why, but a little bit of tension crept into his jaw at the memory.

But the tension eased when Kid, who had just given Black Star a high five (with both hands of course) and was released from Maka's following tight hug, turned toward the white haired weapon and gave Soul a soft smile that shook the weapon out of his reverie.

Soul returned the look with an easy grin and held out a fist in greeting. He was surprised when, instead of hitting his fist against Soul's, Kid rolled his eyes and scoffed, knocking his fist out of the way and wrapping thin arms around Soul's torso in a tentative hug.

Soul chuckled lightly, his own arms wrapping around the shorter boys shoulders.

"Welcome back Soul, you're as asymmetrical as ever." The young death god mumbled softly into Soul's chest.

"Nice to see you too Kiddo." The weapon returned.

"Awww, Kid and Soul would make such a cute couple, dontcha think sis?" Patti squealed excitedly, grabbing onto Kid's arm when he pulled back from Soul's embrace and hugging it to her as she cooed over her meister.

Maka and Tsubaki laughed, Black Star looked on in a silent confusion that was very uncharacteristic for him, and Soul blinked, as if the surprise he felt at the statement was a handful of sand that someone had just thrown in his face and needed to be dispelled.

Liz smirked when her meister gave both her and her sister an embarrassed glare while trying unsuccessfully to quell the soft pink blush on his cheeks.

The elder Thompson sister walked over to join them, ruffling Kid's hair as she spoke, "They really would, they're simply adorable together."

Kid swatted her hand away quickly and proceeded to anxiously fix his hair with the hand that Patti was not attached to, "Stop it Liz! You are completely ruining my symmetry!"

"Oh! But you don't deny that you think you and Soul would make a good couple?" Patti weaseled happily, shaking her meister's arm back and forth childishly. Soul watched the exchange with a bit of amusement, knowing Liz and Patti often got a kick out of agitating their usually calm and composed meister, and a whole lot of curiosity, wondering what the flustered death god would say to their accusation.

Kid blushed again at their implication, not really knowing what to say considering he did not foresee this outcome when he decided to show the white haired Death Scythe a little more affection than just a welcoming fist bump, so he simply settled with the ever eloquent, "Huh?"

Liz's smirk grew and she poked her meister in the cheek teasingly, "He didn't deny it! That must mean that you want to be with Soul, don't you Kid?"

Kid's bright pink blush spread but he was thankfully spared from answering when Black Star stepped in front of him and seriously invaded his personal space by leaning an inch away from his face.

The ninja meister had a seriously confused expression on his face, his eyes narrowed and lips pursed in a frown. Soul mentally sighed, waiting for his idiot of a best friend to go and say something obnoxious or condescending that would inevitably offend Kid and would lead to an all out fist fight. Soul would never understand how two people who considered each other to be very good friends could get along so atrociously.

Black Star looked at Kid searchingly before taking a deep breath and proclaiming, "You look different Kid."

Soul face palmed while Kid blinked and tilted his head to side in confusion before noticing the position was asymmetrical and righting himself quickly.

"Yes?" The young death god spoke questioningly, leaning back a little for some space only to have Black Star follow, resulting in his back being bent backwards and Black Star leaning over him on the tips of his toes.

"Of course he's different you idiot! Just look at his clothing!" Soul told his sometimes dim best friend. Kid gave him an odd look, noticing Soul's attention had been drawn to the very thing he mentioned, seemingly fixated on the bottom hem line of his shirt.

But Black Star just shook his head and dismissed his friend's observation, "No, no that's not it."

Liz looked at the blue haired ninja in confusion and then looked at her meister, "Well he's… taller?"

Black Star sighed in frustration, swaying from side to side trying to realize what was so different about his friend, "I know he's taller! What do you take me for?"

Wisely, no one chose to answer that question.

Patti stopped swaying and dropped Kid's arm in order to reach up and tug on a few strands of her meister's black hair and stated simply, "Kid's hair is longer."

Black Star's eyes widened in triumphant realization and he pointed an accusing finger at Kid's face, "You're hair! That's it!"

Soul was not the only one to face palm in the room that time.

"Yes Black Star, Kid's hair is indeed longer, it's nice isn't it?" Tsubaki said nicely.

Black Star waved the statement away impatiently, "That's not what I meant! Look! One of his white lines is completely connected!"

Kid gave the ninja a small smirk, though initially surprised that Black Star out of all four of them was the one to notice the upgrade, he supposed that it did make a little sense for his self-proclaimed rival to pick up on something of such importance.

Maka walked all the way around the young death god in a complete circle to confirm, "He's right, it does go all the way around now."

Spirit shook his head in disappointment, "Kids are so easily distracted, honestly."

Lord Death sighed at the side track the important meeting he had called had taken, "Now, now, I'm sure you're all very curious but Kid can tell you all about permanently completing his first Sanzu Line later, right now you need to be briefed on your mission."

Soul looked at the young Shinigami standing to his right out of the corner of his eye curiously, '_Sanzu Line?'_

"Sanzu Line? What the hell is a Sanzu Line?" Black Star questioned out loud. Soul shook his head with a small smile, leave it to Black Star to voice what everyone else was thinking.

Liz hit the shorter boy in the back of the head with a fist, making Black Star cry out and grab the suddenly hurt area, "Lord Death just got finished saying that Kid would explain later, so show some respect and shut it shorty!"

The blue haired meister whimpered out an okay before turning to give Lord Death is full and undivided attention along with everyone else in the room.

"Thank you Elizabeth. Now keep in mind that this is a potentially life threatening mission, I expect you all to take the utmost care of yourselves and of each other. I also expect you all to follow whatever orders Kid gives you to the t, is that understood?" Lord Death explained while he looked over the group he had assembled.

The weapons and meisters looked back at him with serious expressions on all of their faces. Black Star shot a quick grumpy look in Kid's direction at the mention of following his orders but remained silent for fear of another fist to the head.

Lord Death moved to stand directly in front of Kid. To Soul it always looked like he was gliding smoothly over the floor instead of walking or something equally as human and the weapon never really got used to that simple sight that seemed so otherworldly.

The elder death god then placed two overly large gloved hands on his son's shoulders, and asked simply in a serious tone of voice, "Kid, you know what do correct?"

Kid nodded an affirmative, a grave look on his face and determination in his eyes, "Of course father."

Lord Death nodded back, "Good, I'm entrusting this to you. If it turns out to be bad news then I expect you all to return to the Academy at once to plan our next move. I know it is not an ideal situation, you had probably not even considered returning there so soon, am I right?"

Soul watched in complete confusion as Kid sighed somewhat sadly and shook his head, "Yes, but it is not like it can be helped. I'll be fine father, I promise."

Lord Death abruptly drew the younger shinigami into a brief but tender hug and then to everyone's shock he began pushing them all down the walkway of guillotines with his massive gloved hands, "Well then, your boat leaves in three hours! Get your things together, you'll be gone for at least a week! Do your best and I know you will return triumphant!"

Everyone besides Kid, Liz, Patti and Tsubaki began yelling out shocked protests.

"Wait a minute, what the hell is going on!"

"Lord Death! What about the mission briefing?

"No one pushes the magnificent Black Star!"

Before the Death door shut on them the group heard Spirit shout out "Be careful everyone! Soul! You take care of Maka or so help me-" before being cut off by Lord Death shoving them all forward and abruptly closing the door.

Soul groaned as he, Maka, and Black Star ended up in a heap on the hard floor as a result of struggling against Lord Death's insistent pushing. A sharp elbow in his gut effectively forced all the air to rush out of his lungs and he growled in annoyance.

"Black Star, get your damn elbow out of my stomach."

Black Star gave the weapon an unimpressed glare, wincing a bit in pain as he tried to move his legs and retuned the Soul's snapped comment with one of his own, "Maybe I would if Maka would get her fat ass off of my ankles!"

Maka scrambled to her feet and slapped the big mouthed meister across the face, "Take that back you jerk!"

Tsubaki shook her head sadly, "That wasn't very nice Black Star, you should really apologize."

Kid sighed to his two weapons before the three of them turned to walk down the hall and away from the idiots that they called friends, "No more than thirty minutes and we are already squabbling, this promises to be a smooth and easy going trip."

Maka stopped beating up Black Star long enough to turn her attention to her three retreating team mates, Kid walking gracefully, Liz chuckling in agreement with her meister and Patti skipping alongside of them happily.

"Wait Kid! Where are we going anyway?" The Scythe Wielder asked impatiently.

The raven haired boy stopped leisurely and tossed them a look over his shoulder before continuing down the hall, "We're going home of course."

Maka and Tsubaki exchanged a quizzical look before hurrying to catch up to the three who were already rounding a corner.

"Home? What the hell does that mean Kid? Come back and explain just what the hell Lord Death wants us to do!" Black Star yelled impatiently, using the elbow already embedded in Soul's stomach to push himself off the ground so he could run after everyone else.

Soul let out a pained filled grunt before slowly getting to his feet, his left hand flexing restlessly after having been trapped under him and his right hand absently rubbing at his rapidly bruising abdomen.

"So not cool." He sighed to himself, walking at his own lazy pace after his odd and rambunctious group.

He had just gotten to the end of the hallway when a strong hand gripped in arm just above the elbow to halt his movement.

Soul turned around and came face to face with his old severely scarred professor, "Professor Stein?"

Said man let go of the weapon's elbow and faced Soul with a somber look in his eyes that startled the scythe.

"Soul, before you catch up with the others I have a favor to ask of you."

Soul brought a hand up to ruffle the back of his own hair in a nervous gesture, put off by the meisters solemn demeanor.

"Sure, no problem. Though if it has anything to do with dissection then I'm going to have to pass." The weapon joked, trying to lighten the meister's obviously distressed mood.

It partially worked as the left side of the other man's lips quirked into a small smirk, "No, nothing like that. Listen, I know that Spirit probably told you to watch out for Maka. I'm going to ask that you watch out for Kid as well."

Soul gave Stein a confused look, dropping his usual relaxed attitude for a more serious one at the professor's request.

"Okay, but why would I need to look out for Kid? He's more than capable of handling himself."

"I know that you consider Kid a friend but I also know that you, just like the rest of the older students from your school days, look at Kid's life and think that he has nothing to worry about, that he doesn't have any problem in the world and that his life couldn't possibly be any easier simply because of his status and his financial situation. But Kid has known his fair share of hard ship and tragedy. This mission is going to bring up a lot of painful memories for him that he has yet to really come to terms with. He's going to need someone to be there for him when that happens."

Soul nodded his head slowly to indicate that he somewhat understood, "Makes sense, but why ask me? Why not ask Patti or Liz? They know Kid better than I do."

Stein gave the weapon a full smirk then and walked past Soul, his footsteps hardly making a sound on the hard tile floors. Right before entering the Death Room he called out an explanation, "Call it intuition, for some reason I think that you're the one he's going to need. Just be sure to take care of him, got it?"

Soul stood in the empty hallway for a few more seconds before becoming conscious of the fact that the disgruntled voices of his comrades were at an all time softness that indicated that they were further away than he realized.

He took off in a light jog to catch up, his own sneakers squeaking noisily, all the while Professor Stein's words and request were playing over and over in his head.

'_What the hell is going on here?'_


	2. Chapter 2

Hello again!

As promised in my original warning, chapter 2 is up in under two weeks! Huzzah!

In any case, I had a lot of fun with this one, thought it is mostly dialogue, explanation needed to be had so do not be upset with the lack of action! Hopefully it is interesting enough that you do not miss it.

Usual warnings, I don't think that there's anything to be worried about just yet in terms of rating (that will come later).

Also, alas but I do not own Soul Eater or it's characters... I'm gonna go cry now.

Enjoy!

Chapter 2 Story Time, Boat Ride: Shinigami 101

Soul tapped his fingers rhythmically on the oak table in front of him restlessly as he sat on the comfortable red cushioned seat of the boat's cabin. Staring out the window at the orange reflection of the dying afternoon sun on the rippling ocean water surrounding the dock was only entertaining for a short amount of time and the beautiful scenery had lost his interest about two minutes after they had arrived.

It had taken a little over two and a half hours to reach the California coast and locate the dock that housed the boat they were to travel in. It was a nice boat, even Soul found himself slightly impressed when he saw it bobbing up and down on the water's surface, sleek, black, and expensive looking were the three main descriptions that leapt to his mind.

But while impressed at the picturesque scenery of the ocean and the luxury of their mode of transportation, Soul knew that most of his team gathered around the large table was little more than annoyed and anxious.

Maka was seated on his right, biting at her nails, a bad habit that she had developed after studying for hours on end while in school that let Soul know that she was frustrated. Black Star was to his left, left leg shaking up and down on the tips of his toes. Soul very nearly had to roll his eyes at his friend, even when Black Star was quiet, he wasn't. The assassin was alternating between sighing loudly and humming even louder. Even Tsubaki seemed annoyed, or as annoyed as a person like Tsubaki could get, quietly staring out at the ocean, hands wringing almost unconsciously in her lap, small frown turning at her lips.

Only Patti and Liz seemed unaffected at their current state. Patti was on her knees backwards in her seat so she could ooh and aw at the ocean and the sky while Liz was filing her nails across from him with a bored look on her face, sending her sister an indulgent smile every time the younger girl addressed her.

Soul chalked their behavior up to spending five plus years as Kid's weapons, they were obviously used to being left in the dark in terms of information.

In the two hours and fifty two minutes since they had left Death City, not one of their questions had been answered. They still had no clue as to where they were going or why they were going there. Only one person in their group knew what was going on and he seemed unwilling to divulge any information until they were ready to set sail.

Soul turned his attention to Kid as the young death god stood talking to their driver, who happened to be an ill favored man with a sickly thin frame and seemingly gray pallor to his skin. The raven's hands were clasped behind his back, spine straight and shoulders back in his impeccable posture. Soul's eyes trailed from the young Shinigami's raven black hair, down the elegant curve of his neck and back without really knowing it.

Kid had evaded their endless questions with a skill that rivaled his father's and something in his eyes made Soul uneasy with this mission. In the past, Kid had always been one of the most steadfast and level headed members of their team, at least when he was not having an OCD fit about symmetry. One of the things that Soul had always admired about him was his ability to stay calm and almost emotionless in near dire situations but now there was a distinctly perturbed air in his yellow ringed golden eyes.

Kid nodded in agreement with whatever the driver was saying and turned his head around to cast a quick sweeping glance over the group, his eyes catching Soul's almost immediately.

Had Soul been a little less cool than he undoubtedly was, he probably would have froze in that moment. It was not often that he really thought of Kid's god-like status but every once in a while he would do something or say something that would bring the fact into stark, black and white reality. Right now, staring into Kid's piercing, glowing golden eyes Soul was hit with the patent feeling that the other was literally seeing all of him, every simple detail that constituted his very life was on display for Kid to peruse like an open book. It was something that was so foreign to any human glance Soul had been subjected to, an otherworldly quality that served to give Soul shivers.

Just as quickly as it had come though it was gone, Kid's eyes softened as he gave Soul a small encouraging smile before turning back to the driver.

Soul sighed, rotating his shoulders to relieve the tension that seemed to be suddenly caught there and refocused on their group before noticing that Maka was looking at him searchingly, suspicion deep within her evergreen eyes.

"What?" He questioned his meister, hands moving over his face and through his hair to see if anything was there that did not belong.

Maka just shook her head slowly, "Oh, it's nothing. Don't you worry about it."

Soul just looked at her strangely, about to question her again before he was interrupted.

"Doesn't it ever bother you?" Black Star suddenly exclaimed, looking at Liz and Patti with slightly crazy eyes. Soul was not surprised, he was amazed that Black Star had been able to shut up for as long as he had already without exploding.

Liz and Patti both blinked, looking at each other and then looking back at Black Star.

"Are you talking to us?" Liz asked, returning to her nail filing as Patti started rocking back forth on her seat.

Black Star let out an annoyed sigh, hands flying wildly through the air as he spoke, "Yes, I'm talking to you! We've been gathered and sent to the ocean to sail to an unknown location for an unknown reason, Kid knows everything and yet he hasn't told us anything in the last three hours! And yet, you're both just sitting there acting like this is some sort of cruise! Doesn't it bother you at all?"

Patti giggled as she rocked, "Nope, not really."

Black Star stared at the girl for a few seconds before his head dropped face down and collided with the table with a loud thump.

Liz reached over and poked him a few times with her file cautiously before settling back in her seat, carefully examining her nails, "That's just how Kid is, everything is on a strictly need-to-know basis. He'll tell us what we need to know when it's time for us to know it. Besides, this is obviously an important mission, it wouldn't do to just air out the details in the open where just about anyone could be listening. He probably wants to wait until we're all alone and in a secure environment."

Tsubaki relaxed slightly with a smile, hands stilling in her lap, "That actually makes a lot of sense."

Black Star slumped in his seat, arms crossed over his chest, "He still could have told us that at least."

"But where would the fun be in that?" Kid stated as he sat down gracefully in the chair between his weapons, back straight, shoulders back, just as he did while standing.

Patti giggled louder as Black Star sent Kid an annoyed glare at the death god's small, yet poorly hidden, smirk.

"Everything sorted out then?" Soul asked, sending a pointed look to the shinigami, nodding his head in the direction of the exiting driver who seemed to hold no interest in their little group at all.

Kid pursed his lips in displeasure briefly but nodded, giving the weapon a small smile, "Yes, just a small matter that needed a bit of clearing up. We should be underway soon."

Maka's eyes switched back and forth between Soul and Kid a few times discreetly before dismissing her thoughts and getting straight to the matter at hand by asking, "So are you going to explain now."

"Yes, but before I do, there is one thing that I need to take care of first, if everyone does not mind."

Everyone looked at Kid questioningly, waiting for the shinigami to speak.

Kid looked at everyone seriously, one by one, his golden eyes narrowed, "We have to rearrange ourselves in order to make the seating situation as close to symmetrical as we can, this is just absolutely ridiculous, I can not spend the next few hours in such a abominable asymmetrical position, to do so would be to make a mockery out of this beautifully symmetrical ship and I will not have it! I will die first!"

Liz put her head in her hands in exasperation while Pattie just burst out laughing as Kid jumped up and started pulling and pushing people into different seats and moving those seats into the perfect positions, all the while blabbering about symmetry. Soul held back a fond chuckle as Kid pulled on his arm to get him to stand up and pushed him into the seat right next to his previously vacated one. Finally, just as the ship started slowly pulling out of the dock, Kid took his seat, still dissatisfied with the symmetry of their circle, but less distracted by it than he had been.

"Now," he said, folding his hands gently in front of him with a content expression on his face, "I will take your questions."

Maka leaned forward, arms crossed on top of the table to support her, "Earlier, back at the DWMA, you said that we were 'going home'. What does that mean?"

Soul watched as a strange expression that he could not really describe creeped onto Kid's face, to him it looked like a mixture of anxiety and reluctance, "I suppose I should have been more clear. We are literally going to the place that I am from."

Tsubaki joined Maka and leaned forward in curiosity, her arms straight and elbows locked as her hands rested on her knees, "You mean, the place you were born?"

Kid nodded, sighing when Patti squealed something about Kid as a baby, "Indeed."

"So why all the secrecy then? If we're just going to where you were born, it's not all that big of a deal." Black Star asked irritably, disappointed at the lackluster explanation.

Kid bit his bottom lip softly before replying, "It is kind of a 'big deal'. I could not tell you where we were going earlier because I could not risk anyone overhearing. You see, humans generally are not permitted to set foot on the island of the shinigami."

Black Star nearly shot up in his seat and even Soul's posture got better at Kid's statement, "The island of the shinigami?"

Kid let out a faintly irritated whine and shook his head, "I see I have a lot to explain before we even attempt to approach the subject of the mission. Well to start out with, have you ever in your life seen a shinigami other than myself or my father?"

At the expected no's he received Kid continued, "Yet, you know that they exist. After all, we are a race and not one that is anywhere near extinction."

"What?"

Kid blinked in surprise at all the incredulous looks and almost face palmed, "You can not have possibly thought that my father and I were just strange anomalies that popped out of thin air one day. Shinigami is not a status, it is the name of our species. One that is far older than humans, I would like to add."

Soul ran a hand through his hair by sheer force of habit before relaxing in his seat and whistling, "So there are more of you?"

"Of course. However, shinigami rarely, if ever, leave the Island." Kid explained.

"Except for you and your father." Soul pointed out.

Kid looked out the window, the same uneasy look in his eyes that Soul had noticed earlier, "My case was unique, and my father has sacrificed many things in order to keep humans and their world safe. Shinigami do not leave the Island because to most it is seen as improper to associate as closely with humans as my father does. The Jinshingami especially believe in a more hands off approach. To watch the human world without intervention."

"Jinshingami?" Maka asked, curiosity filled in every inflection of the unfamiliar word she had just uttered..

Tsubaki hummed thoughtfully, "'Jinshin' means body."

Kid nodded with a small smile in Tsubaki's direction, "Yes. You see, Shinigami are death gods. It is our duty to protect the cycle of birth and death and to keep the human world and the spirit world in balance. Keeping with this balance of two, such as life and death or the human and the spirit world, it stands to reason that there would be two classifications of Shinigami. After all when a human dies, two deaths occur. The death of the body, which is presided over by the Jinshingami, and the death of the soul, which is presided over by those like my father and myself, the Seishingami."

"And the Jinshingami people don't like humans?" Patti asked innocently, folding her arms on the table and resting her head upon them like a child awaiting a fairy tale.

Kid shook his head, "No, it is not that they dislike humans. There are basically two school of thought among the shinigami. On the one hand you have those, mainly Jinshingami, who believe in a total separation of our world and yours. They believe in acting as watchmen of sorts. They do their duty of balancing the human world and the spirit world and ensuring the cycle of life and death but other than that they believe that humans should be left to their business. On the other hand you have those, like my father and myself, who also believe that it is our duty to maintain the balance of good and evil. Balancing good and evil necessitates intervention into human affairs. In terms of authority or an "official" way of carrying out our responsibilities, it is something that every shinigami chooses for themselves. Even the elders are divided evenly on this subject."

"As fascinating as that is, I'm having trouble working something out. You're saying that there is this entire race of death gods living on an island and no human has ever found it or even heard of it?" Maka asked skeptically.

"The Island is not just some regular slab of land. It is said that it is the place where the first life on earth grew, incidentally making it the site of the first death. It was there that the first shinigami came into being, our elders. The Island itself caters to the specifications and needs of the shinigami that inhabit it. Making it undetectable to human eyes is a relatively simple matter."

"But you said that humans aren't allowed on the island. Kid, I don't know if you've noticed but, we're all human." Liz pointed the file in her hand at Kid, nervousness swimming in her eyes at the prospect of going to an island filled with gods of death, after all in her mind, where there is death, there are ghosts. At the thought, Liz started shuddering uncontrollably for a few seconds before shaking it off.

"They are willing to make an exception, however reluctantly, because they understand how important this mission is. That is why you four had to be the ones to accompany Liz, Patty, and I. Permission granted by the elders in itself is not enough to allow you to see and step onto the Island. For a human to exist on shinigami lands they have to bear a close spiritual tie with a shinigami. Our ability to soul resonate as a team is what will ultimately allow you onto the Island."

"Speaking of, what exactly is our mission?" Soul leaned back, his arms crossing behind his head casually.

Kid looked out the window, the dark orange glow of the setting sun lighting his porcelain skin on fire and reflecting off his silky raven hair. When he started speaking again, he did not turn back to look at them, his eyes caught onto something far in the distance that none of them could ever possibly see.

"A long time ago, far before the grim times, when my father still lived on the island, an incident occurred that nearly resulted in the end of the human world. During this time, there were two shinigami who were considered the elite among the community. Rauko of the Jinshingami and Tindome of the Seishingami…" Kid's lips quirked into a small, almost sad smile, "My grandfather."

Kid's suddenly sharp yellow eyes cut back to the group as he continued, "Jinshingami are powerful beings, but they do have one particular weakness that we do not share. Jinshingami are the gods of physical death, when a human dies, their bodies are left as an empty shell that will break down into spiritual energy which the Jinshingami store inside of themselves. This energy, if used, can grant a Jinshingami incredible power, but it is also a double edged sword. The spiritual energy of a decomposed human is a corruption of live spiritual energy and is meant to remain at rest for the remainder of time. The more it is used, the more corrupt that particular Jinshingami will become until they finally fall into madness. It is similar to the Sway of Magic in witches, but in our language we call it mor dae, the dark shadow. Generally this is not that immediate of a threat, Jinshingami are strong willed, proud people who do not often fall into temptation. In the entirety of Shinigami history, there has only been one Jinshingami to ever fall to his mor dae."

"Rauko." Maka stated. Soul could tell by her tone of voice that she was absolutely fascinated by the information that Kid was divulging, they all were. Even Black Star and Patti were quiet, staring wide eyed as Kid told them a story of his people's past.

Kid nodded, "Yes. Rauko was a gifted Jinshingami, powerful in all areas. However, there was one exception, his soul. His easily corruptible nature combined with the tragedy of losing his lover, Aini, and he began using the dead human energy he had stored for revenge until his mor dae overcame him."

"How did Aini die? I mean, you're death gods, do you even die?" Patti's usual cheerful demeanor was subdued, she had straightened up from her previous positions and her hands restlessly played with her meister's left hand, almost acting as an outlet for her energy as she did not want to interrupt Kid's story.

"We can die. In theory, Shinigami who never leave the island can live indefinitely, but one can forsake that connection with our birth place and live a life that far surpasses that of a human in terms of years. But though our bodies are more durable, we can be killed, so we are not necessarily immortal. The act of violence against our own kind is a detestable crime, another shinigami killed Aini in revenge against Rauko. Aini's murderer would most likely have been put to death by the council, had Rauko not gotten to him first."

"So Aini is killed, Rauko starts using the dead human power or whatever, and goes mad. What happened after that?" Black Star is seated just barely at the edge of his seat, his hands spread our on the table tops as he leans forward toward Kid, Tsubaki hovering by his side nervously looking torn between making sure he does not fall and giving all her attention to Kid as he continued speaking.

"Rauko began to kill anyone and anything that had the misfortune to cross his path. He left the Island and slaughtered entire villages of humans, spilling as much blood as he possibly could, collecting the dead souls of his human victims much like a kishin would. My grandfather, as the strongest shinigami left in the community, confronted Rauko. However, using the dead spirit energy and the souls of the humans he had killed, where they had once been considered equals, Rauko was now able to overcome and kill Tindome. My father was witness to this, he tried to help Tindome as best he could but he was still relatively young at the time and could not have hoped to defeat Rauko."

Patti's eyes were wide and as her meister spoke about the death of his grandfather, she ceased the motion of her hands in favor of simply holding it while Liz subtly angled herself so she would slightly be in front of Kid in a protective gesture. Soul briefly pondered whether or not they were even aware of their movement before focusing back on Kid's story.

"So what did he do?" Soul was sitting up straight, his normally relaxed face was serious as he listened carefully to what the meister had to say.

Kid's eyes locked onto Soul's as he spoke, "My father taunted him in order to lead him back to the Island. Once there he did the only thing that he had the power to do. He sacrificed his immortal life and connection to the island and used that spiritual connection in order to seal Rauko in a sacred temple deep in a cave of the highest mountain."

"And that's why he left the island?" Kid's eyes left Soul's to look at Maka.

"Yes, by sacrificing his connection to the island, he in essence banished himself to live among the humans. He may never step foot upon the island again in his lifetime."

Liz released a heavy breath, all the tension in her body leaving with the air she exhaled as she slumped down in her seat. "And I suppose that this ultimate bad guy to end all bad guys has something to do with our mission?"

"Yes, my father seems to fear that the madness spread across the world from the Kishin Asura may have weakened the seals trapping Rauko. My father is still confined to Death City for another five years before the curse that he placed on himself rooting his soul there to keep the Kishin sealed wears off and only someone of our bloodline can strengthen the seals."

"So what you're saying is that our mission is to check out this temple and re-strengthen the seals if they're weak? Boring!" Black Star slumped back in his seat, kicking his feet up to rest on the oak surface in front of him.

Kid's left eye twitched as he glared at the loud mouthed assassin, "We should be happy if things go that smoothly, and get your feet off the table!"

"Blah blah blah, where's the action, the adventure? You would think that going to an island full of death gods would make for a more interesting mission." Black Star complained, his feet still inclined on the table.

"If they go that smoothly Kid? Do you think there will be a little more to it than that?" Liz asked curiously, moving on to paint her fingernails a dusty rose color now that she was done filing as Patti started coloring in a coloring book that she pulled out of her sister's bag.

"Black Star! Get your feet off of the table! You are ruining what little symmetry this seating arrangement has! You disgust me!" Kid was fuming in his seat, fists clenched.

Black Star stared at the irate meister and then proceeded to stick his tongue out.

Soul sighed in exasperation while Maka and Tsubaki just shook their heads, even after three years it seemed that Black Star had not grown up even a smidgen. Knowing that the only way to get Kid back on track was to fix Black Star's position, Soul calmly reached over and shoved the ninja's feet off of the table.

Black Star whined, something about taking Kid's side over his but Soul ignored him and gestured for Kid to speak, "So back to Liz's question."

Kid tilted his head, a look of befuddlement on his face, "Liz asked a question?"

Liz rolled her eyes, "Yeah I asked a question, you just didn't hear it because you were too busy being a wackadoodle."

"My apologies Liz, what exactly was the question?" Kid rested back in his chair, handing Patti the yellow crayon that had just rolled toward him nonchalantly, like it happened everyday. Soul smiled at the thought that, in that trio, it probably did. He remembered back to when the two weapons and their meister first came to the DWMA, about how everyone, himself included, simply just did not understand the eccentric trio and their odd behaviors. It was kind of funny, how their interactions were as natural an occurrence as a sunrise to him now.

"She wanted to know whether or not you thought that strengthening seals was really all we would be doing on this mission." Soul answered for the blonde girl who sent him a 'thanks for listening' for his trouble.

Soul watched carefully as Kid seemed to hesitate with his answer, "It all depends really. It could be all we have to do, it could also be that the seals were not affected at all. But there is a chance… if the seals were weakened enough, there is a possibility that Rauko could escape."

Black Star's face morphed into an expression of excitement while pumping a fist into the air, "Then we would have to fight him right? We would have to fight off a mad death god! I, Black Star, will slay this evil death god and surpass the gods!"

Soul emotionlessly reached over and hit the assassin over the back of the head to shut him up before he got into his diatribe.

"We would not technically have to fight Rauko." Kid looked away again, the sun was almost completely set and in the back of his mind, Soul noted than moonlight suited him more than the sun.

Maka looked at the shinigami inquisitively, "Why not? I know Lord Death told us that if the worst should happen we were to report back to Death City, but if we had an opportunity we should take it right?"

Kid bit his lip lightly, suddenly unable to hide his troubled expression from the rest of the group like he had been doing previously, "Rauko would not be a physical being anymore. He has been sealed in a cave for over 2000 years without food, water, or sunlight. Even for a shinigami, that's long enough to wear down our bodies. Rauko as he exists now is probably no more than a mass of energy and madness, maybe a spirit without a corporeal form. If released, he would more than likely attach himself to a Jinshingami with a soul that is familiar to him. In other words, a blood relative."

A sudden look of comprehension made its way onto Tsubaki's face as she realized why he looked so disturbed at that statement, "Someone you know?"

Kid closed his eyes for a brief few seconds before answering, "Yes, someone I know."

Silence reigned over the group for a few minutes, taking the reprieve in the conversation to digest all of the information they had just been told. Soul looked out toward the water that was rapidly moving below them. The sun had completely set. So far away from Death City, you could not see the moons face, it was just white light, just a little fuller than a third quarter moon.

From the corner of his eye he saw Patti slip the coloring page she had been working on in front of Kid in offering. Kid's previously somber face lightened and he gave the girl a happy smile.

"Hey, Kid?" Kid looked over at Maka who was wearing a confused expression on her face.

"Yes?" he asked, fingertips tracing over the shape of the giraffe that Patti had colored for him, complete with symmetrical spots and everything.

"Why now? We defeated the Kishin three years ago, why weren't we sent to check on this earlier?" Maka asked.

Kid sighed and tilted his head up, "Because Elder Huine only contacted my father a few days ago concerning this matter and the concerns he held. Had he not, Father probably would have forgotten about it completely, or at least for another decade or so."

Everyone stared at him in shock while Liz fell out of her chair. Climbing back onto the cushion she asked what everyone else was wondering, "Who the hell forgets something that important?"

Kid shrugged, a calm expression on his face as if he did not realize how utterly ridiculous the situation was, "Time means something a little different to us than it does to you. When you have the potential to live for an excess of 5000 years, a year or ten can slip by in the blink of an eye. We are not infallible after all, it is easy to not think of something for a few years when you have lived for as long as my father has."

Soul just chuckled as he reclined in his seat, looking at Kid with ruby red eyes, "You guys really are something else."

Kid smiled, "Yes, literally."

Liz finished the color on her nails and looked to her meister hopefully, "So we just land on the island, check out this temple and then we're gone right? No offense Kid, but being around you and your father is strange enough. I don't know how I'm going to be able to handle an entire island full of death gods."

Patti laughed, "Big sis is such a sissy sometimes!"

Kid started to fidget in his seat slightly, a light pink blush barely noticeable on his pale skin, "Actually… heh, well you see the temple is actually only accessible on the night of the full moon, which isn't until, you know, another week."

"What? Then why the HELL did your father send us now? Why not wait and send us, I don't know, two days before the full moon? HUH?" Liz yelled, standing in front of Kid, her hands on her hips and leaning forward as the death god leaned back in his seat, seemingly trying to become one with the cushion.

Kid held up his hands, shaking his head quickly, "I don't know, I don't know! As soon as father remembered the problem he wanted to send us out as quickly as possible to fix it! He probably completely forgot about the full moon until he had already sent us on our way, this isn't my fault you know, why are you yelling at me?"

"So what, we're all going to be stuck on this horrible island full of death gods and ghosts and demons and monsters for a full week?" Liz shrieked, her hands holding her face in terrified misery.

"Who said anything about ghosts, demons, or monsters?" Soul asked while Maka just shrugged.

"Yay! I love monsters! Monster, monster, monster mash!" Patti sang as she skipped around everyone sitting at the table.

"Do you even know what you're saying Patti? Monsters are not cool, they're big and slimy and scary with sharp teeth and pointy claws that can rip you to shreds at any moment! Oh I'm too young to die!" The blonde girl cried.

"There are no monsters on the island." Kid stated simply, posture returning to normal now that Liz was not yelling at him.

"Don't worry Liz! I, the glorious Black Star, will kill any monster who's foolish enough to mess with us!" Black Star declared as he stood and started running around the table with Patti, knocking chairs over and kicking bags around. All the while Black Star was singing about a multitude of different monsters while Patti roared.

"The are no monsters on the island!" Kid said a little louder, his eye twitching as Black Star and Patti continued to run around the table, ruining their symmetry in the process. The death god jumped up and started running after both of them while Liz continued to cry about dying at the hands of come horrible creature, "You both sit down right now! You are ruining the symmetry of the room. Just look at that chair, completely out of place, and that bag was in the perfect position! If I can not even maintain the symmetry of a small boat room how can I ever hope to balance the world? I'm a horrible person who doesn't deserve to live and neither do you! Die in the name of symmetry!"

"Oh man, this is so not cool." Soul leaned back in his chair, arms crossed behind his head once more as he watched the spectacle his friend's made.

Tsubaki giggled softly, "It's so nice to have the team all together again, isn't it?"

Maka laughed along with her as Black Star knocked Soul's chair over accidentally, the weapon thrown to the ground suddenly before growling and jumping up to join Kid in the chase, "It really is."

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><p>Ha! I hope you liked it! I'm super excited to write the next chapter, though it promises to be a lot of work considering I have to actually decided what this is going to look like... oh well!<p>

Review please! I would virtually love you through the internet forever!


	3. Chapter 3

HII!

I'm so proud of myself, I got this chapter up in a week! I can't believe it!

So, after reading the three chapters I have done so far, I have noticed that, like I warned, it is a tad slow. Do not worry though, it will pick up in the next few chapters. I have a full 17 chapters planned out and I think that will just be over half the story haha

In any case, I really liked writing this chapter and hope you will find equally as enjoyable. It does introduce some OC's, one of which will be important to the story in the future. OC's don't really annoy me so long as they're not the central character nor paired with any of the main characters, so I'm in the clear. Besides, they can't really be avoided considering I'm making up a culture here.

Umm... warnings: A bit of language in this one, and that's really it haha

Disclaimer: I do not own Soul Eater or any of its characters. Drat.

Enjoy!

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><p>Chapter 3 The Island of Death: Death the Kid's Real Name?<p>

The mist was so thick it was nearly solid, so intensely white it may just as well have been sheets of snow, rolling around the black boat and completely obscuring the sight of anything that was not directly in front of your face.

Black was usually a color that was associated with dread but right now Soul would have given anything to be surrounded by the inky blackness of the night in place of this unnatural fog.

Drenched as if caught in a storm, Soul stood with his hands gripping the railing attached to the front deck, his knuckles white from the tension in his hands, his sole evidence that Black Star was still with him being the rapid cursing going on next to him.

In retrospect, he figured that maybe they should have listened like the girls did when Kid had told them not to go outside yet. But when the young death god had said that they were near the Island after six hours inside the cabin, he and Black Star had insisted on going out onto the deck so they could watch as the island approached and get some fresh air, completely ignoring Kid's warning in the process.

And now, now they were just too damn stubborn to admit that they were wrong.

They refused to walk back into that cabin, soaked to the bone, shoulders slumped in defeat and teeth gritted against the cold that wrapped itself around their bodies.

No, instead, they did all of that outside, in the mist, freezing, but free from the mocking comments of their company.

"How much longer can this damn mist last?" Soul growled out, interrupting Black Star's steady cursing of the environment they were currently in.

"It's been nearly 30 fucking minutes already, I don't know if we can beat this one Soul." Black Star spoke forlornly between chattering teeth.

Soul strained his eyes in hopes of looking at the assassin one last time, "It's looking like this is going to be the end of us buddy. There's only one thing left to do. In an hour, maybe two, the others are gonna come out here and find our bodies frozen to death, so we have to freeze in the coolest positions possible."

"Will do pal. Soul, you will always be my best friend. Even in death the power of our friendship will never be denied. We- HEY! I can see your eyes! Gah, they're so creepy in the mist!" As soon as the words left his mouth the Blue haired meister threw himself at the weapon as the mist suddenly disappeared as soon as it had appeared.

"SOUL!" Black Star cried, his arms around the weapon's neck.

"BLACK STAR! I CAN SEE YOU!" Soul nearly wept at that small and simple fact, freedom making him momentarily emotional.

"And people call me melodramatic." A lightly amused voice sounded. The two hugging boys turned together to stare at the doorway where Kid was standing dead center, a light smile on his face. Patti was standing on his right laughing uproariously as the other three girls giggled.

Kid sighed and went back inside, shaking his head, as Soul and Black Star let go of each other.

Maka continued giggling as she and Liz walked up to stand at the bow of the ship, Patti skipping ahead of them, just a few feet away from where Soul was standing.

"You guys could have just come in if you were wet and cold, you idiot." Maka laughed even as she rolled her eyes at her weapon.

"Hmph." Soul crossed his arms over his chest grumpily as he stood up stick straight due to the cold he was feeling. His meister would chastise him while Tsubaki walked Black Star over to the stairs leading up to the helm to sit him down and hug him to warmth. He really got the short end of the stick when it came to caring and doting partners.

Suddenly the constant chill running through his arms was halted as warmth covered his shoulders. Soul looked to his side to see Kid leaning over the rail on his right, elbows resting on the black metal railing, chin in his hands as he smiled over at him, light pink blushing barely gracing his cheeks.

Soul looked at his shoulder in confusion, looking blankly at the soft black blanket covering his shoulders and arms before thanking the meister. Kid's blush deepened and he made a dismissive gesture with his hand.

"You really should have come inside when the mist started coming in. I did try to warn you. The mist is a feature of the Island, it's what makes it so that humans can not ever hope to find it. No human could ever navigate through that mist and they all inevitably end up lost or gently turned back the way they came."

"This is so pretty!" Patti yelled as she twirled looking straight up at the sky, arms stretched out on either side of her.

Soul looked up and held back a gasp. Now that the mist had cleared the night was one of the clearest he had ever experienced and in the sky were millions of stars visible, like someone had dropped a bucket of glitter across midnight blue fabric. So many that there seemed to be more bright, silver light than dark blue sky. But it was not only glitter, it was color. Swirls of dark purples, light blues and even reds melted across the sky. There was not even a need for electricity, Soul could see everything and everyone clear as day.

"I've never seen so many stars before, not even in the countryside." Maka said, her voice quiet and awed.

"It really is a shame what light pollution has done to the night sky in the human world." Kid sighed, golden eyes tracing shapes and patterns in the stars above, a calm and serene expression on his face.

Soul leaned down next to him, elbows resting on the bars with his hands together and shoulders hunched in his signature horrid posture.

"In the human world? Are we no longer in the human world Kid?"

"The Island is more of an in-between space. In between the human and the spirit world, in between life and death. It is separate but connected, just like we are separate but connected to humans."

Kid looked sad as he was speaking but immediately smiled when his eyes rested on one spot in the sky. He straightened up and pointed, "Soul, do you see that really bright star alone in that small abandoned area?"

Soul shot the shinigami an incredulous look and then motioned with one sweeping hand to the entire night sky and all the millions of stars embedded in it, wondering how he was ever supposed to pick out a single one.

Kid rolled his eyes good naturedly and grabbed Soul's right hand with his left, pulling till the weapon stood shoulder to shoulder with him, or at least as close to shoulder to shoulder as they could get with their height difference, their joined hands outstretched in front and above them. Soul took a moment to enjoy the soft skin of the meister's smaller hand, surprisingly free of any rough calluses one would expect from a gunslinger.

Kid pointed with his index finger and Soul's eyes followed as the meister started making shapes.

"Rusco, fox. Filit, bird. And ango, snake…" Kid spoke quietly, tracing the snake's tail until Soul's eyes caught a small area of blank sky around a bluish bright shining star.

Kid let go of Soul's hand gently and leaned against the railing once more, "That's Ainatar. Shinigami myth says that Ainatar was the first being on earth, born of the starlight, he guided the spirits of dead plants and animals into the Spirit World."

"Plants and animals?" Soul asked, his eyes caught on the bright star as Kid spoke.

Kid laughed, "Don't be so species-centric Soul. Every living thing has a spirit that needs guidance after leaving their physical bodies in death. Ainatar was the only one of his kind though and bearing the burden of every death on earth weighed heavily upon his soul. He beseeched the stars to take him back and when they did not answer he thrust himself back into the sky from the highest mountain on earth. But he was aware of his responsibilities, he chose four bright stars that were fashioned in a square and threw them down to the earth to the Island, where the first life came into being, trading their place for his. These are our four elders, the first shinigami to ever come into existence."

"Wow."

Kid laughed again, "It's a myth Soul. A story told to children at bedtime. No one really knows if it is true, the elders certainly have not said so either way, I doubt they even really know."

"So how did the story come up in the first place?" Soul asked curiously, leaning on the railing once again next to Kid, this time a little closer.

"The same way any myth comes into being, to explain what is to us, unexplainable. Even we don't know everything." Kid shrugged, his eyes tracing the sky again.

The stood in silence for a few minutes before Soul grinned widely and nudged Kid's shoulder with his own, "So the asymmetry of the stars doesn't bother you then?"

Kid rolled his eyes, "There are millions of stars up there Soul, it would take more years than even I have to determine whether or not that sky has symmetry. Even I'm not that crazy."

"Hey Kid!" Liz waved the raven haired boy over to where she and Maka were standing while Patti stood on the bottom most rail and leaned over the side, he hand on her eyes as if she was blocking out the non-existent sun and pointing straight out in front of her.

Kid stood, walking over to the girl's and Soul found himself automatically following.

"Is that it? That speck of light waaaay over there, is that the Island?" Patti asked as she leaned forward to a worrying degree.

Kid calmly pulled the back of her shirt to straighten her up, "Do be a little more careful Patti. But yes, that is the Island that we are approaching."

Hearing the stated fact, Black Star perked up from where he was seated on the steps and bounded over to the group with Tsubaki hurrying after him. The assassin threw himself onto the rail next to Patti and leaned over trying to get a better look.

"Why is it so bright?" Maka asked as she strained her eyes impatiently to try to see it better.

Kid just smile, "You'll see soon enough."

"Or you could just tell- HEY!" Liz squealed and reached out wildly as the boat jerked left momentarily before righting itself. Patti and Black Star grabbed onto each other in panic as they swayed on the railing and Tsubaki put a hand on each of them to keep them from going over the rail and into the water.

Even Kid was caught by surprise as he stumbled back into Soul who had managed to regain balance fairly quickly, his arms wrapping around the meister automatically to hold him up from behind.

"What the hell was that all about." Liz panted as her heart raced, one hand holding onto Maka'a shoulder as the other girl straightened up from her bent over position.

Kid scowled in the direction of the helm above them before being distracted by someone coughing conspicuously in the otherwise silent environment. Kid looked over at Maka who was smiling while Liz smirked lightly.

It was then that Kid noticed his position, his back pressed against Soul's chest with the weapons arms wrapped around him to steady him. Kid flushed when his eyes met Soul's, and immediately missed the warmth when the weapon blushed back and released him, clearing his throat self-consciously.

Liz nudged Tsubaki lightly with her elbow, "Told you they would make a cute couple."

"Uh, hey, Kid, I was wondering. Earlier you said that no human could navigate through the mist." Soul's voice was stilted as he switched everybody's focus away from him and what he had just done.

Kid rubbed lightly at his flushed cheek before answering, "Yes, I did say that."

"Then what exactly is steering the boat?" Soul asked, thinking back to the ill looking man who had been talking to Kid in the cabin.

"Oh, Menta is a wraith, couldn't you tell?" Kid said simply, his right hand rubbing his left arm.

"A wraith? A wraith is a ghost isn't it? How can a ghost steer a boat? Oh god, I knew I was going to die!" Liz cried as she sank to her knees.

"He's not really a ghost per say. He's more of an undead guide really. A long time ago, even before my father's time, a shinigami who was like minded to us left the Island after hearing about a pair of demons who were murdering women in a small village outside of modern day Paris. When he got there though, the demon was mourning after accidentally mortally wounding his own lover, who lay dying in his arms. He caught sight of the shinigami and vowed himself to an eternity of servitude if the death god would save her. The shinigami agreed, saved the demon's wife and tied Menta to the job of ferryman between the human world and the Island for as long as the Earth survived."

"How did he save her? The demon's lover I mean." Maka asked as they came closer to the bright spot in the middle of the black ocean that was the Island.

"She took part of Menta's soul and used it to anchor his lover's soul back in her body." Kid explained nonchalantly.

"You can do that?" Liz asked in amazement. Maka was looking at the shinigami in surprise and even Black Star looked impressed.

Kid looked out in the direction of the approaching land, Soul studied his profile, sensing the same hidden but distinct sadness that seemed to cling to Kid ever since they left Death City, "Not always. It is actually a testament to how much Menta loved his wife that the shinigami was able to tie part of his soul to hers. Such a thing can only be done in cases where two soul wavelengths are completely and naturally compatible. I mean, anyone can tweak and train their wavelength to match another's, like meisters do with their weapons all the time. But to find two soul's naturally matching in wavelength is an extremely rare thing to find in this world, even when you live as long as we do. In other words, part of your soul can only be tied to another's if you are, and don't laugh because it's true, soul mates."

Soul snorted, "Who knew death gods could be so romantic."

"Hey guys look! There are floating lights around the Island!" Patti cried, tugging on her sister's arm.

Soul turned his attention away from Kid and back onto the Island. They were still quite a few miles away, but they could finally see it. They were moving straight toward a huge towering metropolis set at the edge of the island almost over the water, bigger even than Death City. Lines of alabaster buildings interspersed with trees gleamed white in the moon and starlight, spiraling upwards to the top and capped off with a huge sprawling magnificent castle. Soul leaned forward across the railing to try and get a better look.

The closer they came, the more detail Soul could make out. All of the buildings, the castle included, were detailed with delicate flowing lines, intricate organic designs that looked as if someone had actually managed to melt the stone and bend it into shapes. Spiraling towers and huge winding stairs leading to grand halls could be seen even from this distance and every glass used in the vast arching windows of every building throughout the city were stained softly in different colors of purple, pink, blue and green. Beyond the stunning city, Soul could make out huge, dense forests and towering over the city in the background was a mountain range, the highest component of which looked as if it were about to breach the sky.

Patti was right though, all around the Island were hundreds of tiny floating lights, cutting across the cool starlight and adding a dimension of warmth in the otherwise ethereal environment.

"It's so beautiful." Tsubaki voiced softly, her hands resting lightly on the railing.

"Like a dream." Maka commented warmly.

"Who knew that a place that was home to death gods would be filled with so much light." Liz leaned on the railing with a soft smile that she just could not seem to help.

Patti climbed up onto the rail again, still amazed by the floating lights, "What are they Kid?"

No answer came forth. Soul turned back to the young shinigami that he had passed when trying to get a better look at the Island and felt surprise shoot through him. Kid was just staring, softly biting his lower lip and his eyes glazed with what Soul belatedly realized were unshed tears. There was nostalgia, the natural happiness and warmth associated with returning to your place of origin but it was almost completely overwhelmed by a deep sadness that Soul could almost feel himself, as if it were reaching out to him desperately.

Soul reached out a hand and placed it hesitantly on the meister's shoulder, slowly, as if the other would break if he moved too fast, "Kid?"

As soon as his hand made contact with the other's shoulder, Kid took in a deep shuddering breath and released it and the pained expression on his face all at once.

A vacant smile that Soul automatically saw through took it's place on Kid's face and he shook his head when Soul opened his mouth to speak.

"They're called Menel Calina, Sky Lights." Kid walked forward so that he stood next to Patti, running a hand lightly down Soul's arm as he did so in some sort of comforting gesture. Wirily Soul thought that it was Kid who needed comforting. He could see why Professor Stein had asked him to look out for the raven haired meister now, there was obviously something about this place that Kid associated with despair.

Patti looked on wondrously, "Oh, how do they float?"

Kid smiled, genuinely this time, Soul noted. Whatever it was that made Kid so upset a moment ago had been shoved into a deep dark corner of his mind, "They're not floating, they're flying."

Patti looked absolutely giddy at the prospect and Black Star pointed at Kid accusingly, "You mean those things are alive?"

Kid nodded before turning back to Patti, "Would you like to see one, I think we're close enough for them to hear us calling."

Patti's eyes went wide and she nodded happily in agreement. Soul was interested as well. They were close enough to the Island now that they could actually see the dock they would be pulling into in about ten minutes, but the floating lights still just looked like, well balls of light.

Kid leaned as far as he could over the railing and held out one hand to the sky, his white shirt slipping up a little further, affording Soul a glimpse of the smooth, pale skin of his lower back, "Okay, don't everyone crowd at once, we don't want to scare her."

Everyone but Patti took a step back in retreat after having unconsciously moved forward toward Kid before his warning. When everyone was backed away a bit, enough so that Kid and Patti had a small amount of free space, Kid whistled. A high note sounded in the night air, strong and pure, it seemed to echo though there was nothing around for the sound waves to bounce off of. When the note ended, Soul watched in fascination as one light started moving away from the others and towards Kid's outstretched hand.

The light flew around Kid a few times before coming to rest right in Kid's palm and the shinigami smiled brightly as he pulled his hand closer to his chest slowly and gently. The warm light from the creature in his hands illuminated his pale face brilliantly, shining off of glowing yellow and molten golden eyes and contrasting with the darkness of the thin dark eyebrows and raven hair, and Soul realized that his friend was heartbreakingly beautiful.

Patti leaned over Kid's shoulder and stared down at the tiny creature in his hand in child like wonder. The others stepped forward slowly and cautiously when Kid motioned that it was okay for them to come closer.

The tiny little light in his hand was smaller than a fairy, but was very similar to one, only with white pale skin, wrapped in a white dress with platinum blonde flowing hair and gleaming yellow eyes. Her wings were thin and intricate and they shined like sunshine through a snowflake, seemingly reflecting all colors at once.

"They are similar to the fairies in the human world. Whenever a child shinigami is born, a sky light is born from their innocence. One sky light to correspond with every shinigami." Kid said fondly, his other hand moving to caress a wing ever so softly, the little light creature humming happily.

Maka moved forward an little more, the light from the creatures wing's reflected in her forest green eyes, "Is this one yours?"

Kid smiled brightly again and nodded.

"She's so gorgeous." Patti whispered reverently. Apparently, the little light liked the weapon's assessment and flew up to circle Patti's head before resting in her open palm that Kid hurriedly brought up in front of her.

"Hello, little sky light! My name is Patti!" The younger gun weapon stated excitedly. The light did not speak, but when it opened it's mouth a light airy sound, like the chime of a small bell came forth, and the note sounded happy.

"We're here!" Black Star cried suddenly and Soul looked up, startled to see that they were indeed pulling into dock.

The little light flew out of Patti's hand, circled Kid once and flew away as the boat came to a stop.

"By little sky light! See you later!" Patti waved happily before skipping over to the cabin along with Black Star and retrieving her, Liz's and Kid's bags. When she came back out she handed one to Liz and kept the other two herself. Soul smirked, Kid hated carrying any sort of bag, always said it made him feel asymmetrical. Patti knew this, so she did not even make to giver her meister his own bag, happily carrying it for him.

Soul hurriedly retrieved his own bag as well as Maka's, which he promptly dumped on her when he returned outside and rushed off the boat after Kid and the two demon guns.

Soul swayed when both legs made it onto the light stone dock, hours of being on a boat obviously messing with his equilibrium. As soon as he regained his balance he started walking again as Kid made his way to the end of the long dock, where two adults were standing in waiting.

They were both very tall and willowy, one male and the other female. The male stood just a bit taller than the female, his lean frame covered in a heavy billowing black cloak held together with gold fastenings up the chest and high neck, dark black hair cut short. The female was dressed just as darkly as her companion, black dress falling to the ground, huge bell like sleeves starting at the edges of her shoulders and golden thread weaving a beautiful design on her torso, sleeves, and hem. There were both pale skinned and smooth faced, looking about early thirties, though they're golden eyes were ancient.

Kid stopped in front of them and bowed briefly before straightening again, "Elder Huine, Elder Taura."

The two older figures smiled lightly then. The male put a hand to his heart and then made a sweeping motion forward in what Soul assumed was some sort of shinigami greeting while the female stepped forward, long graceful hands coming up to rest on either side of Kid's shoulders.

"Isilme, it has been eleven years I believe, not a thousand. There is no need for you to be so formal." Her voice was soft but strong and something about it instantly put Soul at ease.

The male stepped forward then, one hand moving to rest lightly on Kid's head, "Only eleven years and look at how much you've grown. You really are the exact mirror image of your mother."

Soul noticed a bit of tension return to Kid's previously relaxed body before the man spoke again.

"And you must be weapons and meisters from the DWMA. We welcome you to the Island and thank you for your assistance."

Seeing as how everyone else was too amazed to speak, Soul stepped forward and offered a hand to the far older male who promptly shook it, "Soul Evans sir, it's an honor to even be permitted access to your lands, we promise to do everything we can to help."

Kid smiled in approval as Soul's speech seemed to kick everyone else out of their stupor and then frowned when Black Star stepped forward.

"I am Black Star! Never fear, as long as I'm around you can bet that this Island will be perfectly safe! No madness will escape from me!"

Tsubaki ran forward startled and grabbed Black Star's arm to keep him still, "Um, sorry about that Sir, he's a little high spirited, strong constitution is all."

The man smiled, "No need to apologize. And there's no need to call me Sir, Huine will do just fine."

The woman, Taura, dropped Kid's shoulder's and turned to Liz and Patti, "And you must be Isilme's weapons. You have quite the strong connection. You must be exceedingly strong to be weapons for a Reaper."

Liz blushed at the compliment while Patti smiled happily, "Thank you ma'am, my name is Liz, and this is my sister Patti. It's very nice to meet you."

Taura nodded and looked at Maka, "And you dear?"

Maka gulped, "Maka Albarn ma'am. I'm Soul's meister."

"I'm so glad that Isilme has such strong and worthy companions, perhaps Taura will stop worrying about him so, now." Huine said teasingly while Taura scoffed and Kid blushed at the doting.

"In any case, it is very late. We should start making our way-" Huine began but was interrupted by a yell.

"Isilme!"

Everyone turned toward the forest, where a man who looked around 21 years old was running down a dirt path toward them. From the corner of his eye, Soul saw Kid give a fond smile of recognition.

The man bounded up to them, just the same height and build as Soul, clad in black slacks and a white t shirt with tan skin, ruffled black hair and deep purple eyes. As soon as he was in front of Kid he threw his arms around the meister's waist and lifted him off the ground.

The automatic annoyance must have registered on his face because Maka's sharp elbow made its way into his side in warning.

Kid rolled his eyes but smiled nonetheless as he patted the man's head, "Hello to you too Tulca. If you wouldn't mind putting me down, that would be fantastic."

The man, Tulca, laughed and set Kid down gently. "Sorry Isilme, it's just been so long, I've missed you."

Taura smiled at the display and placed a hand on Kid's shoulder, "Hello Tulca, I believe my husband and I will be retiring for the night. Will you please escort Isilme and his friends?"

Tulca straightened and flushed somewhat, not having realized that two of the elders were present, "Of course Lady Taura."

The women smiled gave Kid a brief hug before walking away with Huine.

"Ne, hey Kid, why does everyone keep calling you Isilme?" Patti wondered as she rocked on the balls of her feet.

Kid blushed and bit his lip softly, "Well, that's my name. My real name anyway."

"What?" Liz put her hands on her hips and stared her meister down, demanding answers.

"Well, the shinigami of the Island were always very amused that the humans called father 'Death' so when I was born, I was given a name but also the nickname of 'Death the Kid' after my father. Eventually people started just calling me Kid so when I came to the human world, it's what I stuck with."

"So, should we start calling you Isilme now?" Black Star asked, confusion staining every world.

Kid smiled and shook his head, "No, I've been just Kid for the past eleven years. If you started calling me Isilme it just wouldn't sound right. Kid is much more natural to me now."

Tulca smirked, "So should I call you Kid then."

Kid rolled his eyes and gave the other shinigami a pointed look, "Would you even if I asked you to?"

The man laughed, "Nope, probably not."

"Ugh, you haven't changed at all." Kid sighed.

Maka smiled and stepped a little closer to Kid, pulling Soul with her so that the white haired weapon was standing right next to the raven haired meister, their arms touching lightly between them. The green eyed meister watched carefully as the new man's eyes zeroed in on the spot where Kid and Soul were touching, "So who is this, Kid?"

Soul shot his meister a questioning glance that she ignored, though she noted, not without satisfaction, that neither Soul nor Kid had made to put anymore space between them. Apparently this Tulca guy had not missed that fact either, because he sent a disgruntled frown Soul's way while the weapon's attention was averted.

"Oh, this is Tulca everybody. He was my best friend growing up. Normally, because we live so long, shinigami children are separated by many years but luckily I happened to be born just two years after Tulca. You may notice that he has different characteristics than Elder Huine and Taura and I. That is because Tulca is a Jinshingami, you can tell easily if a shinigami is a Jinshingami or Seishingami just by looking at their eye color. Tulca, this is Liz, Patti, Black Star, Tsubaki, Maka and Soul."

Tulca's deep purple eyes ran over each of them briefly as they were introduced until he got to Soul. Soul watched his previously good natured smile get a little tense and Soul automatically took another half step toward Kid, bringing their arms into full contact. The white haired meister did not think he was going to like this Tulca guy very much.

The older Shinigami's eyes narrowed slightly before his lips stretched into a smirk, "Of course, that's not all we were, was it Kid?"

Kid smiled nervously, "That does not really make a difference anymore Tulca. It really is very late, we should probably make our way into the city now, it is a long walk to the castle and we need some sleep and of course I'm going to have to fix all of the asymmetrical things on our way."

Soul's eyes widened marginally, "What else could you have possibly been at eight and ten years old?"

Kid let out an annoyed sigh and started pulling lightly on Soul's arm to get the group to start walking, "Like I said, it was a long time ago and has no relevance to the here and now, so can we please start walking now?"

Tulca just continued to smirk, "We were intended to get married when we were older. He was my, what you humans call, fiancé."

Kid rolled his eyes, his lips pursed in annoyance, tapping his foot impatiently while motioning to the walkway that led up to the city.

Soul let lose a small growl, thinking again about how he just knew he was going to hate the arrogant jerk in front of him. And Soul was never one to go against his instincts.

But for now he just wrapped a friendly arm around Kid's shoulders and let himself be led away by the relieved meister, leaving Tulca to follow quickly with his annoyed glare and the group to scurry after them with their shouted questions regarding what Tulca had just said.

Soul just squeezed Kid's shoulders a little tighter, pulling the other into his side a little more firmly and tried to focus on walking and not punching the following Jinshingami in the face instead of his friend's small smile and Maka's pleased grin.

Soul sighed as he thought about the sudden mess he had gotten himself into this time. And to think, the mission had yet to even really begin.

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><p>Hope you liked it! Hopefully I can get the next chapter up just as quickly as this one!<p>

Please review with your thoughts and comments :)


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